"Caricature strips powerful people of their prestige," and this is the essence of the fear Israel and its supporters have of this satirical art form, according to Jordanian cartoonist Emad Hajjaj, who told The New Arab that he thinks caricature "is based on satire and exposing contradictions ".
"When someone presents himself as the architect of the new Middle East, then a caricature depicts him as a war criminal or comic figure; this ruins the image he is trying to impose to frighten people," Hajjaj said.
In his remarks, Emad Hajjaj directly tackled the media and political campaign against him in Britain, led by the right-wing newspaper The Telegraph , which accused him of "antisemitism" over cartoons criticising Israel and the genocidal war it has waged against Palestinians in Gaza since October 2023.
The campaign followed his invitation to participate in the Lakes International Comic Arts Festival, which is partially funded by the British government.
The festival is due to take place in Kendal, Cumbria, in north-west England, between 2 and 4 October. Events will be held at the Brewery Arts Centre and several art spaces across the city.
For Emad Hajjaj, the issue is not only about attacks on a cartoonist but also a broader attempt to suppress any artistic or cultural discourse in the West critical of Israel since the start of the genocidal war on Gaza.
He argues these campaigns intensified after "Israel lost the PR battle", saying that scenes of destruction, killing and genocide in the enclave "deprived Israel of much of its ability to control the narrative in the West".
This, he opined, led to intensified attacks on artists, universities and cultural institutions that criticise the occupation or show solidarity with Palestinians through the use of accusations of "antisemitism" as a tool of pressure and professional and political isolation.
"Zionism, like all movements based on oppression and racism, hates caricature and satire because they expose contradictions," he added, further noting that the danger of this art form lies in its simplicity and its ability to reach people, even without the need for reading and writing. The Telegraph campaign against Hajjaj centres around two cartoons he drew.
The first dates back to the 2008 Gaza war and shows two parallel images: in one, Nazi soldiers surround persecuted Jews, while in the other, Israeli soldiers surround Palestinians wearing the keffiyeh.
The second, first published in The New Arab in February after Donald Trump announced his plan concerning control over Gaza, depicts the US president and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as contractors standing before an entrance resembling the gate of the Auschwitz Nazi camp bearing the words "Trump's Gaza Plan".
Hajjaj said some European countries "consider comparing Zionism to Nazism a crime", but stressed that he "does not shy away from that" and that these cartoons "were widely published, even on European platforms".
He further said that reactions to them were not limited to Arabs but also included "Jews and non-Zionist Jewish artists who encourage anyone criticising the occupation, the Zionist right and the genocidal war".
Hajjaj does not separate what he is facing from the wider Western cultural and political climate after Gaza, where accusations of "antisemitism" are now used to target artists, academics and writers expressing solidarity with Palestinians.
Nevertheless, he pointed out that his cartoons had previously been published in European and American outlets, including Le Monde in France and Le Temps in Switzerland.
For him, Europe appears less hardline than the United States on this issue, despite mounting pressure there as well.
While some European platforms and cultural institutions still allow space for discussion or disagreement, he believes the American scene has become harsher towards any discourse critical of Israel, particularly within major media and cultural institutions, where accusations of "antisemitism" have become a tool of deterrence and professional isolation.
He pointed out that the ongoing Israeli genocidal war on Gaza has placed cartoonists before "the most difficult task", saying, "What can a cartoonist do while people are dying, the city is being destroyed, the genocidal war continues, and the world is incapable of saying anything?"
What provoked the newspaper was that these cartoons "liken Israel to Nazism", and it claimed that hosting Hajjaj at the festival "adds fuel to the fire of hatred against Jews".
It also cited remarks by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who last week called for stricter measures when "public funding is used to promote antisemitism", demanding the use of powers to "suspend, withdraw or recover funding".
Chris Philp, shadow home secretary in Britain, also called for Hajjaj's invitation to be cancelled, saying that "public money should not be used to provide a platform for those who incite hatred against Jews".
In response, the festival administration stood by its invitation to Hajjaj and said it "rejects all forms of racism", while also defending "freedom of expression".
Festival director Julie Tait said the event had never hosted "antisemitic cartoons or works".
Hajjaj also said the festival administration informed him that it was accustomed to such campaigns "whenever hosting any artist from the region," but remained committed to his participation in the upcoming October edition.
International organisations concerned with freedom of expression also entered the debate.
Cartooning for Peace announced on Wednesday, 13 May, its full solidarity with Hajjaj and said the case reflects "a climate of sharp polarisation" that now exposes cartoonists to censorship and attempts at exclusion.
It warned that the deliberate or unintentional conflation of criticism of Israel with antisemitism "undermines the quality of democratic debate and freedom of expression" and reinforces a "culture of self-censorship" in favour of "extremist and simplistic discourse".
This is not the first time the Lakes International Comic Arts Festival has faced similar attacks.
The same newspaper launched a similar campaign against it in 2024 after it invited Palestinian cartoonist Mohammad Sabaaneh because of a drawing depicting Christ wearing the Palestinian keffiyeh during the crucifixion.
The issue sparked widespread pressure, leading festival board member Peter Kessler to resign after more than a decade in the role. Article translated from Arabic by Afrah Almatwari. To read the original, click here .